"The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux was based on a true story at the Paris Opera House. According to history, a falling chandelier killed one opera patron at a performance in 1896. Leroux decided to write a novel based on this and other true events that occurred at the Paris Opera House. Andrew Lloyd Webber directly adapted Leroux's novel for his musical. It won 10 Tony Awards and is currently the longest-running musical in Broadway history.
Quotations from the "Phantom of the Opera" novel are written as freeform prose, while quotations from the Broadway musical are mostly rhyming and in verse. Therefore, Leroux's novel is more conversational than the musical, including quotes like, "Forget the man's voice and do not even remember its name. You must never try to fathom the mystery of the man's voice." A similar line in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical reads, "Swear to me never to tell the secret you know of the angel in hell."
Leroux's novel contains beautiful lines, including, "He had a heart that could have held the empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar," and "I was much too unsophisticated to give the devil a hold on me." Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical quotations include, "Turn your face away from the garish light of day, turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night," and "My God, who is this man who hunts to kill? I can't escape from him. I never will!"
Quotations on the Internet are sometimes erroneous, listed as quotes from the musical when they are actually from the book, or vice versa. The more direct way to tell whether a quote is accurate is to consult the novel or the libretto. If the quotation rhymes, it is probably from the musical. It is most likely from the novel if the line does not rhyme.
Other adaptations of "Phantom of the Opera" include the silent film version of the same name starring Lon Chaney, the novel sequel "The Phantom of Manhattan" by Frederick Forsyth, and the "Phantom of the Paradise," an '80s film directed by Brian De Palma. Quotations from these adaptations can be found in the Resources.